i do not know if it is me or them. i had a chest Xray done routine one, and i went to see the GP about general review of medications.

my xray came on his screen and he said ah yes sign of decline due to COPD, well thats what we expected, it struck me then that they never have a cheery note, and they always expect decline, and any change in mobility and beathing, is blamed on the copd, since i have had it i have been diagnosed with thyroid problem, testosterone deficeiancy, vitamin D also, i have had gladula fever, all of which make you very ill on there own, and every time i have had to fight to get them to look further not just dismiss it as copd,

i had spoken to the specialist who had told me the xray was showing no sign of change, which i think is good,

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I know exactly what you mean I have Emphysema and had double Pnuemonia last summer and was off work for three months.

When I last saw my consultant I thankfully felt really well, I recieve a copy of the letter that goes to my GP in it she says how Kim is coping remarkably well considering her conditition. So does she expect me to crawl in on my hand and knees, and when I ask the results of my lung function test her reply is rubbish.

Not a very clinical analysis.

Kim

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5 years ago

I know exactly how you feel. My husband has his spirometry tests done in the middle of Dec 2011 after a cold but was actually better than he had been physically for about 3 years - the results were dreadful. He has declined to 28% FEV1 - I refused to let the nurse say how much decline there had been I just spoke over the top of her and continued to tell my husband how well he had been doing and it might be a good idea to have these tests when he was well and in the summer. He looked devastated when the nurse insisted on telling him that there was a marked decline! I was too! It was about this time I decided we would only worry about the "numbers" when things were going wrong. It really put him back. It makes you feel much worse - you go in thinking - OH I am doing OK and come out wondering if how long you have got!! Rant over! Glad to see that you and Kim are coping well. Long may you continue to do so! TAD xx

agree there gps nurse told me my lung age and I didn't ask for it,dont no why wen u are feeling good they do that,i said ok im of to town got shopping to do/if she expected me to collapse got a surprise I didn't/told her well I wouldn't no wat a 90yrs lung is like but must be ok if they can do wat im doing good for them.i take copd serious ,I no wat I have,but don't want reminding like that,we have to livre wth it not them,then said she was a smoker up2 9yr ago,i said ive stopped on diagonise,then I thought oh is that why u tell us stuff like that in case we are smoking with copd,.ridiculous,remarks they come out with,take care

I was told I had COPD, I felt they were right and that my lung function was not good and that I did have significant breathing problems.

2 weeks later, I had my spirometry, the practice nurse told me I did not have COPD and my results were in the normal range.

Well, very quickly, I started to feel better (though I knew a part of that was anxiety) and it made sense to me that I probably had a little breathlessness from smoking for so many years and from getting older.

Then I had my follow up with my GP yesterday who said my spirometry was not normal and I could have COPD but if I do, mild but yes, it could just be the damage that smoking has done and it could stop there as I have stopped smoking.

I felt like I had been hit like a sledge hammer being told that and I am winning at the moment but it is tough not to start focusing on it again, worrying about it.

And what you are told does make a difference on your feeling of wellbeing and I totally understand your attempt to prevent your husband from hearing about the decline.

I know we have a right and need to know what is happening to us but there is also sometimes a happy medium so that everyone does as well as they can and not impacted too greatly by a diagnosis rather than how we actually feel

I was diagnosed with Asthma many years ago, after a spell in hospital with pneumonia and being told I had reduced lung capacity due to scar tissue. I had inhalers and was reasonably OK about it all for a long time. I still smoked, was able to do my work, but was aware I wasn't 100%.

Then I was told I had COPD, and have had regular spiro tests over the last few years with vastly different results. When I have a test at the GP surgery it's often giving me a higher result than the ones they do at the hospital, using bigger and fancier machines. So I get told by one GP that I could be getting better but next time the consultant decides I need to increase my steroid inhaler and have further tests as he's not happy with the results.